DE-COLONISATION

Decolonisation endeavours to tackle the colonial capitalism effects, bigotry and Eurocentrism, particularly by making noticeable ways in which colonisation advantages the colonisers their exploits along with the disadvantages every one of the others. It may indicate structural in addition to mental work, and typically starts with making detectable the practices and results of colonisation. Utilized in a psychological viewpoint, it has relations to practices such as ‘conscientization’ and the ‘deliverance of consciousness’ explained by other practitioners or deliverance psychology.  Coloniser and Indigenous individuals in ensuring efficient decolonisation work have a big part to play.

Gordimer (2003) states that decolonisation refers to a process, which aids indigenous individuals to be identified as associates of an ethnic grouping, which has historically been thoroughly oppressed by an overriding culture; it allows them to take the plunge towards social revolution. Enabling an understanding of domineering processes and asserting the legality of a individual’s ancestral culture fosters cultural regeneration. Smith (1999) states that, Indigenous persons require to critically examine their colonial history to enable decolonisation of their brains, emotions, bodies and attitudes. Similarly, an argument regarding non-Indigenous Australians, which even social workers, have swallowed colonialist mind-sets towards Indigenous Australians via society, state, media and family representations and require decolonising their minds, as well, is valid. Numerous individuals have stated that the Australian colonial handling towards Indigenous Australians was in the earlier periods and that modern people and governments must not be held accountable for historical actions or their present impacts. Gordimer (2003) indicates that although that the oppressor along his descendants have formulated a hereditary privilege via colonisation in addition to justifying this condition by declaring that they awarded illumination to Indigenous populace, a declaration that is critically objected decolonisation is vitally necessary.  These deeds have prevailed in varying guises, frequently encompassing social workers, and have worsened the denial of Aboriginal individuals and therefore should be taken as colonial.  Social workers usually are uninformed of the colonial effects of their actions with Indigenous populace since their values and attitudes have been modelled by the equivalent Australian colonial knowledge (Briskman, 2003). Non-Indigenous populace de-colonisation calls for their deconstruction of views and discrimination that the colonising faction has effected concerning the colonised, to recognize the oppressor subjects the kinds of repression and unfair handling and to work towards eradicating these attitudes and actions from their hearts. The impacts of colonisation should be viewed from the context of long-standing systematic structural coercion and mistreatment.

McLeod (2000) says that (Australia’s) Aboriginal individuals are in a course of decolonisation, which is involving shedding off the colonial perception and there exist a procedure of acknowledgment of historical and current cultural, society and spiritual strength autonomous from the colonial coercion. Shedding colonialism entails a course of capsizing the overriding way of viewing the universe and representing actuality in methods that never replicates colonial values towards both the colonized and the colonizer (Blanchard & Lui, 2001). However, this is in dissimilarity to the existing circumstances where Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals have internalized conjectures from US and the UK thereby disregarding the Australian Indigenous perceptions (Briskman, 2003). An illustration of this procedure of deconstruction for individuals may be to tackle directly an entrenched observation concerning Indigenous Australians, for example that every Aboriginal community is dysfunctional.  

Edwards & Taylor (2008) indicates that the Australian Federal Government during 2007-2008 led interventions towards the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities where similar views of indigenous degrading were widely experienced.  All social workers originating from both sides (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) who were involved during this intercession of attempting to deconstruct the negative view cross-examined the deconstruction to disclose the layers of thoughts, information and feelings that have contributed t its creation. Often recurring, ill-motivated, racist, prejudiced views instigated in the ancient colony for instance that, Aboriginal mothers along with their communities discarded ‘half-caste’ children and were incapable of awarding them a strong and just babyhood and upbringing or the right to be seen who they really were and are (Young, 2004). Additionally, those ideas and attitudes modelled and fuelled by a Eurocentric universal maintained that British culture along with their civilization were superior. Observations for example Indigenous parents care less towards protecting their kids, are very dysfunctional or very ignorant to do so flourished. These too possess lengthy histories regarding Australia’s colonial handling of Aboriginal family units and children.

Decolonising thoughts and attitudes regarding this issue could entail understanding and recognizing that generally, Aboriginal children were wholly well cherished and cared for prior to the British invasion (Briskman, 2003). The British interrupted the Aboriginal communities, began stealing kids and sexually mugging and raping the womenfolk and Aboriginal children (Young, 2004). Evidently, non-Indigenous men are presently still playing a primary function in sexually attacking Aboriginal kids. This issue has prompted Indigenous leaders, particularly women elders, to complain constantly with reference to this difficulty and have offered community founded solutions for years but have consistently been overlooked and dismissed.

This also entails social workers persistence that every work performed to tackle child sexual attack should be led by Aboriginal women within their individual communities and that they should be supported by non-Indigenous workers along with professionals in order to wipe the notion. However, this is not done in order to deny the extremely grave and dreadful scourge of mistreatment towards which inconsistent figures of Indigenous kids are subjected, rather an understanding motivated by decolonising views (McLeod, 2000). Inflicting the military, police along with social and society workers brings about the colonialist advance. This technique being used towards this present crisis epitomizes the colonial universal view that fostered patriarchal privileges and duties indicating that the British owned a responsibility to restructure Aboriginal communities in their own representation since this would in the best interest of Indigenous individuals. These colonialist mind-sets have formerly been and are present still entrenched intensely in ‘white’ Australian communities and in numerous Indigenous persons and societies viewpoints.

Blanchard & Lui, (2001) states that decolonisation means that non-Indigenous individuals and societies must positively utilize their influence and ranks as ‘experts’ towards the Indigenous individuals’ situation.  This would help in that rather than seeing Indigenous individuals and societies via the lens of ‘wanting to be saved’, they would be seen as possessing, possessed and continuing to possess the power and ability to endure in spite of attempts to eliminate, enchain and de-civilize them (Buchan, 2005).  These powers can be seen in Indigenous Australians’ chronological and continuing opposition towards these inflictions a strong-minded land rights faction along with an inventive society development for instance women’s ‘strong.  A decolonising practice would see such power and capability as being part of the resolution towards Indigenous societies’ issues and problems.

References

.Blanchard, L. & Lui, L., 2001. Citizenship and Social Justice: Learning from Aboriginal Night Patrols in NSW. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 5,16-21

Briskman, L., 2003. Indigenous Australians: Postcolonial Social Work. In J. Allan, B. Pease, & L. Briskman (Eds.), Critical Social Work. An Introduction to Theories and Practices (pp. 92-106). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Buchan, B., 2005. ‘Enlightened histories: Civilisation, War and the Scottish Enlightenment’, The European Legacy, 10, 177–192.

Edwards, T. & Taylor, K. 2008. Indigenous Health; Decolonising Cultural Awareness. Australian Nursing Journal

Gordimer, N., 2003. New Introduction. In A. Memmi (Ed.), The Colonizer and the Colonized (pp. 27-44). London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.

McLeod, J., 2000. Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester University Press, UK.

Smith, L. T., 1999. Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples. New York: Zed Books.

Young, S., 2004. Social work theory and practice: the invisibility of whiteness. In A. Moreton-Robinson (Ed.), Whitening Race. Essays in social and cultural criticism (pp 104-118). Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press.